Scottish Motorists Told Not to Travel as Snow Traps Hundreds on Motorways

By Tim Farrand and Peter Woodifield -
Dec 7, 2010

Scottish police are advising
motorists not to travel in the country’s central belt because of
icy driving conditions even as most of the motorway network
around Edinburgh and Glasgow opened.

Central Scotland and Lothian and Borders police said on
their websites that people should drive in the center of the
country only if “absolutely necessary.”

The only motorway that was still closed at 1.45 p.m. today
is a westbound stretch of the M8 near Edinburgh, according to
Traffic Scotland. Lothian and Borders police are still clearing
trucks that had parked overnight on the trunk road. The motorway
is the main road link between the capital and Glasgow.

“These are the worst traffic conditions we have seen in
Scotland in the 11 years I have been here,” said Mick Savage,
head of U.K. networks at Trafficmaster, which has a network of
5,200 sensors covering all of the country’s motorways.

As much as 40 centimeters (15.7 inches) of snow fell in a
few hours yesterday as temperatures dropped to as low as minus
18 Celsius (minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit) forcing the closure of
Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, which reopened earlier today.

The Met Office has severe weather warnings in place for
widespread icy roads throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland
with more snow predicted in Orkney and Shetland, the Highlands
and Grampian regions.

Rail Services

Most rail services are delayed or canceled, according
to the ScotRail website, with the Edinburgh to Glasgow line
running a limited service.

Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson apologized
in a British Broadcasting Corp. interview for the difficulties
caused to people who had been stuck in their cars overnight.

“Scotland has been in the grip of the worst snow and ice
conditions in the early winter since the 1960s,” he said in a
statement. “Snow was predicted but was significantly heavier
than expected and timing during rush hour made conditions
worse.”

All Glasgow City Council schools and nurseries will be
closed today because of the severe weather, according to the
council’s website. A total of 900 schools across Scotland are
closed today giving 200,000 pupils a day off, according to the
BBC. In South Lanarkshire, 150 pupils and staff spent the night
in their school in Hamilton.